30 days and $204,000 left!

Despite all of your support, we did not quite make it on Kickstarter, but we did rework the vision of the game based on your feedback, and restarted a pledge and pre-order drive! We want to get the first version of Project Awakened into your hands this November.

At this moment, 783 believers have pledged $45,646 toward the game. There is 30 days left to make it to $250,000 so that we can give you this demo as a well polished playable game, open to modding and multiplayer -

You can use Paypal or credit cards, and we are refunding all pledges if we don't make our $250,000 base goal. Project Awakened still needs you, and you can still have a chance to play it...come join us!!

Comments

@Steven - there are tiers, they are just called packages, and are nearly the same.

(in a related matter) @ Stephen Delvecchio - the tiers map pretty well to the packages except, yes, for the lower ones that we adjusted for the fact that it's two games, and you are getting something sooner.

People like to one-source all their KS type stuff and not get tied up with X outside sites/forums. "Ain't nobody got time for that." A 2'nd KS with a reduced goal/explanation thereof would be preferable to this confusion and backlash generating private thing. Plus being on KS gives a certain air of accountability and transparency.

Superbacker

Go read the comments in General/in the previous Update.
It's overwhelmingly stated in update 17 comments, and it's been overwhelmingly stated here. We don't get WHY you've chosen to not relaunch here on KS, we obviously prefer this method of crowdfunding. I'm not surprised there's been bugger all pledges over on the site compared to the 6k we had here.

As an aside, the tier rewards are changed also, in the survey you asked me if I would back again at the same level - sure I would back again at the $50 '2 copies of the game' tier. Except on your site firstly the $50 tier was limited edition for a handful of days (for some reason) and even then it didn't come with the similar '2 copies of the game'; rather it was altered to include merely 'another copy of the create a character mode'

Having said all that, yes of-course I want to see this "Freedom Force on crack" idea come to fruition. Sort out your crowd-funding situation first and foremost, however.

@megamanxjac - I personally don't think any move should be made now. If another Kickstarter goes up, its going to be much more negative. Can't you see how some of the kickstarter backers feel right now? The people who backed privately on the project awakened will ask the same questions: why are you doing this? The people on Kickstarter will be more skeptical probably/maybe.

I believe that despite whatever negative comments, most of the supporters still wanna see this project come to life. In fact, I think even without the funding they probably will be able to roll out beta. If Phosphor wants to update anything now, talk about future plans, do behind the scenes updates, doesn't even have to be game footage. Don't talk about the money or funding this thing anymore, instead make people believe in the project again. Double Negative which got their projects funded ran into money issues and fans voluntarily paid more. They never asked for money, instead they shot footage every month of what they were working on and in one of the updates they talk about it. Everyone was compelled to give them money cos they believe in the people and team.

Ok so what’s the plan here? Are we continuing with the paypal project or are we going to be using kick starter. Granted my personal opinion on the matter is that the people reluctant to switch are experiencing brand loyalty especially since paypal takes less off the top than the kickstarter/amazon combo, but I digress. :D

I really want this game to be made, and can’t wait for the modding community to get their hands on this game. If we are planning on doing both I suggest keeping paypal backers informed of how much kickstarter backers have raised and vice versa. Also inform paypal backers that kickstarter has started up again. You know so no-one feels that they are being slighted, cheated, ripped off, or any other negative reactions made in the comments below mine.

@Phosphor Games: I think your company's image is being turned negatively. In this update you yet again posted videos that everyone have seen. I believe backers need to be reminded of what Project Awakened is about but not by similar footage or updates calling just for money. I think at this point a lot of supporters who used to believe in this project feels like your company is just asking for money, nothing more. We all know you guys need the money to roll the project further but you can't just ask backers to shift to your own website and back you up for a beta game.

A lot of us are surprised by that move and if you had came back with kickstarter, you could have (1) LOWER THE PLEDGES for a justified beta version of the game which would probably let you meet the $250k goal. (2) GAIN more new backers from the SUPER LARGE kickstarter community. (3) Allowed all the websites and supporters to remind friends that YOU"RE back.

And you guys said you can't build new contents. SO YOU CAN BUILD NEW CONTENTS on your private site? no right? You could have posted videos of your team talking about behind the scenes, showing REAL PEOPLE talking about the game, what it means. It gives so much credit to a team and company. Why do you have to show the same game videos? Show some work in progress or your programmers talking about codings and explaining in video about your goals and plans with REAL faces. Can't you try that at the minimum least?

A lot of backers are pissed off because now its not about the game anymore, not about the players anymore, its about your $250K, really,it is. That is the way you have promoted yourself. Its sad because you've done that unintentionally probably. And with every question that you try to ask backers "hey, if we do this will you back it?" ITS DESPERATE like you'll do anything to get your money. And you probably should, but not in this way at least.

Stick with $250K as a funding goal on Kickstarter with the original Kickstarter. It's what you've stated for the last 2 weeks so stay consistent. If you raise $50K through your site plus $250K+ through Kickstarter, then the combined funds allow you to create a deeper game for the backers... or perhaps deliver the game through hiring additional staff or shifting team members who were working on it part-time to full-time.

The goal shouldn't be to just reach the funding goal... it should be to surpass the goal so you can make the game bigger and better.

My vote is for one game... version 1 in November as you suggested and the updated version 2 (with multiplayer stuff) in 2014. If you have to, call the November one a beta version with the stated list of what will be added for the planned 2014 final version.

People will not feel ripped off by the idea of one game that will be expanded with more features and content being added. The Witcher 1 & 2 games increased the size of their games by 25-50% with their follow-up updates that came out 6-12 months after the game initially launched.

The other advantage you gain by making it one game is the early feedback you get from users.

For example, suppose the November release gets you feedback that people hate the inventory system... that could be fixed as part of the planned 2014 game update. By calling the November release a beta version, you could offer the final complete version in 2014 up for review to sites like PC Gamer that can drive additional, full retail-priced sales.

Here's a good example of that: Stardock recently released the beta version of their latest game via Steam. They've already done one update thru Steam based on beta tester feedback and once the game is finalized with additional features added and bugs ironed out, it will be sold at full retail price. Once the final version is released, then they can get all of the review sites writing about the final game and that helps drive new sales for them.

hey all. Thanks for caring enough to reply, even if you are ripping us a new one ;) We hear you. Bottom line is we have been trying to do this for a long time, and trying different things. We got a lot of feedback that the goal was too big, people couldn't use paypal, and the game was not clearly defined. We also heard that we should go make some cool new content and come back to KS. We just can't make the cool new content right now. I suppose we could have just walked away and let the game go on the back burner again, but we ran the survey to get peoples thoughts. We are trying to find a way forward.

Let me ask this group this: if we relaunched on KS for $200K (so subtracting out what the private site has already raised) with the new model of the two games with two different launch windows, and we really don't have any new sizzle stuff to show you, does that really change how you feel about it?

@ me, early bird for new kickstarter, i was ok with 25bucks for the single game, (got early bird on both, just want to point out i would be ok with $25 for one game, instead of the 35 at two = ripoff!)

@ mike, i agree! i actually hate the split into 2 games, feel actually ripped off compared to what i was going to get ay my previous backing on the first kickstarter. if it was not for the early bird tier i got, i would NOT be a backer! remake the kickstarter with the original tiers and game design.

Unfortunately, since your new system is set up through PayPal, I can't contribute this time around. PayPal has my e-mail and credit card on a permanent block for reasons unknown to everyone, including PayPal - they have no clue WHY I'm blocked, but they apparently can't fix it, either. So I'm excluded from this go-around, which kinda sucks since I was really psyched about the game.

Sorry, I have to call it like I see it. You're stepping over dollars to save pennies.

6287 people backed your original KS campaign for almost $339K. You decide that Kickstarter is "too expensive" and do on your own site only.

You launched that promo on March 23rd and only 12% of your previous backers have agreed to back through your own site ... and yet you're still not listening to the vast majority of us.

In the last 12 days, 87% of your previous backers have voted "NO" to backing you outside of Kickstarter. That's about $294,000 of your previous campaign pledges which is more than you're asking for your own site. Even with KS fees of 10%, it's still $264K.

Marketing 101... the only votes that count are the ones cast by BUYERS. Meaning if 87% of your previous backers aren't backing your project with their own money on your own website... then they've voted against funding outside of Kickstarter!

The solution is simple:

1. Launch a new Kickstarter campaign and your own site with the same $250K goal.

2. Stick to the old pledge levels. Some people may like your two game option but I think you're better off positioning it as one game with a planned big update to add in the Project Awakened: Subject features. It wouldn't be the first time a game had a big follow-up patch or update. Heck, the Witcher games added a ton of new content to each game this way.

IMHO, the way you have it positioned right now, it sounds like backers get a single player demo with the real game coming next year. Because it wasn't a demo, then you could share more specifics like how many levels are in the game... the STORY of the campaign... all of the things that get people excited and wanting to back it.

3. For the 783 backers you've already gotten... bribe them with the same "stuff" as the KS pledge tier or slightly higher.

For example, on your site it's a pledge of $35 to get both "games"... so give them the same thing as your $50 KS pledge tier. Make it exclusive to those 783 backers as a way of "apologizing" for changing the reward tiers to match what you put up on Kickstarter. It's 100% digital fulfillment so there's no additional costs to ethically bribe them and make sure that they do not cancel their pledge through your site and go with the lower prices on the KS tiers.

4. Offer pledges through Kickstarter and your own site. That's what 99% of the KS campaigns I've personally backed have done. It works or else every new KS campaign wouldn't continue to do it.

5. Every very successful KS video campaign I've studied in the last 18 months has offered a under $25 tier (with the sweet spot being $15) for getting the game. I strongly encourage you to do the same. Looking at your previous campaign, 4672 of your backers (about 74%) chose a tier at $25 or less.

6. Look at what other successful KS campaigns have offered for tiers and stretch goals. Besides the mega-successful ones like Wasteland 2, Torment, etc... look at the ones done by studios similar in size and scope to yours. Divinity: Original Sin and Battle World: Kronos are two current KS that are doing quite well thanks to well-thought out tiers and stretch goals.

At the end of the day, you need to decide if you want to be right or be happy.

If you want to be right, then keep telling yourself that everyone has to back through your website the way you have it set up now.

Or you can listen to the 87% of your previous backers who have voted with their wallets... swallow a bit of humble pie... and launch another Kickstarter campaign too. Because if you do, then the combination of BOTH Kickstarter and your PayPal pledges will allow you to happily make the game you really want to make.

Long term... isn't being able to launch your own independent game where you keep the bulk of the profits and use it to help finance your next independence project... isn't worth eating a slice of humble pie just one time?

Every comment says pretty much the same thing, which is similar to the last update.

I don't know if there's enough goodwill left towards the project for it to succeed on a follow up KS, but it seems pretty clear the private website approach isn't going to get anywhere. Every update like this drives more people away, the post before mine has a step by step to help people unsubscribe from you - the fact that this feels needed speaks volumes. If you wait for your private bid to fail before starting a second KS I've got a feeling that it'll be too late, if you want the project to go ahead you need to do something dramaticly different and do it soon.

*sigh* You know what. Good luck Phosphor. You are probably very nice people (showing humanity in your writing would help though), and I wish you the very best in your funding drive.

@Anyone who is irritated with the spam - Click the "Me" in top right-hand corner of the page, then select "settings". When you get to the settings page click on the "Notifications" tab, look for a line that says "Projects you back" click the picture that looks like a green envelope (it will turn grey when you press it). This will turn off email notifications.

I really don't see thismaking it. You should have relaunched this on KS with a reduced funding goal of the 250,000 and the rest could have been stretch goals. I garuntee you would have succeeded this looks dismal. So far you only have 783 people pledge out of 6,287. You should have relaunched through here and you would have met your funding goal in record time mabye even made close to your original goal of 500,000. Either way you would have succeeded. Many are skeptical and will not back privately and you are not going to get the word out there as well by not being on KS. You could have launched on here done some cross promoting and still had a private paypal setup after your KS successfully ended. Other campaigns did that and succeeded by huge numbers. What a shame. I really wanted to be apart of this success but with such small support it looks like we won't make it this time either. :( Project Awakened what were you thinking?

I don't mind that you are trying to do your own thing and not use ks, i don't understand it but i don't mind it. What i do mind however is the spam to my inbox for a project that i am not backing. Please don't use kickstarter to run ads for your personal projects. Its not cool.

Superbacker

You had around 6000 people who wanted to back you on kickstarter again, but instead you chose to try a campaign on your own website with a lower goal... If you would have just brought that project back to kickstarter you would have been successful. As much as I love the idea for the game and have the faith that you can build it, I too would have preferred kickstarter. By doing it on your site you are only losing the interest of your supporters and crippling the level of funding that you could have had with a revised KS project.

I wish you guys the best, but I echo my fellow KS backers: please inform us why you did not return to KS. I don't think KS is the reason your project did not meet its goal. Also, I don't really feel that your new project, while it may be a bit more realistic than your original ambition, seems as appealing as what you promised in this KS project... that combined with higher pledge requirements prevents me from supporting you.

Once again I wonder whose input you listened to. With only 700 backers I would think it would be plain that you listened to the wrong people. I also can't believe you are still using ks to send updates for your own fundraising project that is low.

I doubt that I'll back your new campaign. I was prepared to back it on KS, and with the pledge levels as originally detailed. The final product is no longer the game that I was interested in. Now, in order to get a copy of this different product, I would be required to increase the level of my pledge.

I think a lot of people see running your own campaign on the side as a little shady. Bring the campaign back to kickstarter or at least come up with a cogent set of reasons why you're not doing that and i'll consider pledging again.